Dividing Valuables After a Hoarded
Estate Clear-Out

Along with an inability to manage their possessions, many hoarders are often unable to manage their legal and day-to-day business affairs, such as a clear will and testament. When the death of a hoarding relative lands their family into the quagmire of clearing out and cleaning up their physical affairs, inevitably there will be squabbles over dividing any valuable or sentimental possessions uncovered from the clear out.

During a hoarded estate clear-out, we often recoup valuables such as thousands of dollars in cash hidden in the most unexpected places, collectibles, vintage items, photo albums, war memorabilia, and cherished family mementos.

Rather than wrestling with family members over who gets what, possibly damaging relationships, when you work with Clutter&Hoarding Pros, we can assist your family in deciding how best to approach the hoard and manage the possessions you wish to keep. We are completely objective, and we have no emotional ties to anything we find while clearing and cleaning the estate, so we’re in an excellent position to mediate over the division of possessions your family wants to keep.
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Prepare Ahead

Before we begin a clear-out, we consult with the family hiring us and set expectations ahead of time, presenting a clear game plan that avoids family rivalry and added confusion when clearing out an estate. This preparation gives us a hoarding clear-out action plan for the next two to four days, which is the time it usually takes us to clear a medium to large hoarded estate. The plan not only helps families have a firm deadline in order to prepare the home for sale or rental, coordinate with contractors, etc., it also provides us with a timeline for dividing the found valuables among family members. When issues do arise, we can be the “clear head” to help resolve the differences or, if this is impossible, we can help present a way forward to decide the issue at an appropriate time in the future.

Clearing the hoarded estate of a relative is usually a very emotional time for all involved, so having an independent, emotionally neutral, non-family member to mediate and keep a cool head will help to guide the project to a successful conclusion for all.